This Week in Tufts Athletics: September 25 - October 1

Sep 26, 2017

Football

When: Saturday at Bates at 1 pmWhat you need to know: The football team hits the road again this weekend, traveling up to Bates for a 1 pm contest with the Bobcats. Bates is off to an 0-2 start this year, having fell to Amherst (41-17) and Trinity (51-0). Ranked last in total offense, averaging just 204 yards per game through two games, the Bobcats will need to get something going to compete with the Jumbos. Junior quarterback Ryan McDonald is fifth among the league’s passers averaging 211 yards per game and second in rushing with 107 yards per game. The Bobcats finished tied for sixth in the NESCAC standings last year with Colby and Hamilton as all three teams had 3-5 records. The Jumbos beat the Bobcats, 12-7, when the two teams faced off last year.

Men's Soccer

When: Tuesday at Wesleyan at 7:30 pm, Saturday at Amherst at 2:30 pm and Sunday at Hamilton at 1:30 pmWhat you need to know: The men’s soccer team has quite the week ahead of them with three conference games this week. On Tuesday they will head to Wesleyan who is 5-1 this season with that lone loss coming to Bowdoin, 1-0. Saturday the Jumbos are at Amherst, and the Mammoths are ranked No. 16 in the D3soccer.com national poll and have a 2-1-1 record this year with a 1-1 tie with Williams and a 1-0 loss to Middlebury. The weekend wraps up with a Sunday contest at Hamilton with the Continentals who are 3-3-1 this year and have lost their last two to Middlebury (1-0) and Connecticut College (1-0). The Jumbos lost to Wesleyan, 1-0, last year, tied with Hamilton, 2-2 and beat Amherst 3-0. The Jumbos were ranked No. 3 in the most recent United Soccer Coaches national poll and No. 5 in the D3soccer.com national poll.

Women's Soccer

When: Tuesday at MIT at 4 pm, Saturday at Amherst at 12 pmWhat you need to know: The women’s soccer team is coming off a relatively quiet week with an important one. The Jumbos will travel to take on No. 8 MIT on Tuesday and then head out to play Amherst, who is getting votes in the D3soccer.com national poll, on Saturday. After a 1-1 tie with No. 15 Brandeis last week, the Jumbos are up for the occasion this week. First up is MIT who owns a 9-0 record this season. The Engineers beat Brandeis, 3-2, to open season play this year. The Jumbos lost to the Engineers, 1-0, when the two teams played last year. After the midweek the Jumbos will get ready to head to Amherst on Saturday. The Mammoths are 3-4 this season, having recently suffered a pair of one-goal losses to Williams (3-2) and Connecticut College (3-2). The Jumbos fell to Amherst, 3-1, when the two teams faced off last season.

Field Hockey

When: Tuesday at Wesleyan at 6 pm, Saturday at Amherst at 12 pm and Sunday at Hamilton at 12 pmWhat you need to know: The field hockey team has a huge week ahead of them with three conference games on the docket and two of them being against nationally-ranked top ten teams. On Tuesday the Jumbos will head to Wesleyan for a 6 pm contest with the Cardinals. The Cardinals are 2-4 this year, those lone two wins coming against Roger Williams and Eastern Connecticut State. The Jumbos beat the Cardinals, 6-0, when the two teams played last year. This weekend brings a trip west as they head to No. 9 Amherst on Saturday and No. 8 Hamilton on Sunday. The Mammoths are up first and are 5-1 this year with that lone loss being a 2-1 setback to Middlebury. Most recently they edged Williams, 3-2, in overtime. The Jumbos were edged by the Mammoths, 3-2, in double overtime last year. Sunday the team will head over to Hamilton for a 12 pm contest with the Continentals who are 4-2 this year, most recently having suffered a 1-0 setback to Connecticut College. They have beaten No. 5 Middlebury and No. 12 Trinity this year, both by 3-2 scores. The Jumbos beat the Continentals, 2-0, last year.

Volleyball

When: Tuesday vs. UMass-Boston at 7 pm, Friday vs. Hamilton at 8 pm and Saturday vs. Williams at 2 pmWhat you need to know: The volleyball team will have a busy week ahead of them, taking on local-rival UMass-Boston and then hosting a NESCAC weekend with Hamilton and Williams in Cousens Gym. The Jumbos will first take on the Beacons, who are 6-6 this season. After losing their first six games of the season, the Beacons have won their last six heading into Tuesday. The Jumbos and the Beacons split last year, with UMass-Boston winning during the regular season and Tufts pulling off a 3-1 win in NCAA Regional play. Then on Friday the Jumbos will start a NESCAC weekend with Hamilton coming to Medford. The Continentals are 5-3 overall this season and 2-1 in conference play with wins over Connecticut College and Williams, and a setback to Wesleyan. The Jumbos won, 3-1, last year in Clinton, N.Y. The weekend wraps up with a Saturday contest with Williams, who is currently 5-6 this year overall and 1-2 in conference play. The Ephs have beaten Connecticut College but fallen to Wesleyan and Hamilton. The Jumbos won, 3-1, when the two teams played last year.

Men's Cross Country

When: Friday at Paul Short Invitational at LehighWhat you need to know: The men’s cross country team will bring a small contingent out to Lehigh this Friday for the Prestigious Paul Short Invitational. The Jumbos will race in the gold division, and the race will feature over 300 runners from Division I, II and III schools. Last year the Jumbos had two runners place in the top 50 as the team finished 25th overall out of 38 total teams. This year representing the Jumbos at Paul Short will be senior Sam Little, juniors Dylan Jones, Andrew Doherty Munro, Colin Raposo, Brian Reaney, Christian Swenson and Hiroto Watanabe, sophomore Michael Carvanos and freshmen Peter Horvath and Patrick Nero. Little, Jones, Doherty Munro and Swenson all have experience with the course as they raced there last year.

Golf

When: Saturday and Sunday at NESCAC Qualifier at TrinityWhat you need to know: The golf team has a huge weekend ahead, as they head to Trinity for the NESCAC Qualifier. The Jumbos need to finish in the top four to qualify for the NESCAC Championship in the spring. Last year the men were just one spot away from making it, finishing fifth at the qualifier in Middlebury, Vt. The Jumbos have three weekends of golf under their belts heading into the weekend, including one on the course they will be playing on this weekend. Sophomore Brandon Karr has been the leader for the Jumbos the last two weekends, as seniors Aaron Corn and Taylor Nordan, junior Justin Feldman and freshmen Harry Theodore and Alex Honingford have all been good for the Jumbos this fall. Williams won the qualifier last year.

Sailing

When: Coed Saturday and Sunday at Danmark Trophy at Coast Guard and Women Saturday and Sunday at Rogers Trophy at CornellWhat you need to know: Senior Alp Rodopman and freshman Talia Toland both had great weekends for the Jumbos at the Single-handed championships. The Jumbos now get back to team competition as the coed team heads to Coast Guard for the Danmark Trophy and the women head to Cornell to race in the Rogers Trophy. At last year’s Danmark Trophy the coed team finished 14th out of 20 total teams. At the Rogers Trophy the women’s team finished 4th last year.

Men's Tennis

When: Friday, Saturday and Sunday at ITA Regional Championships at Middlebury What you need to know: The men’s tennis team opened their fall season last weekend at the Middlebury Invitational and sophomore Ben Biswas brought home two victories for the Jumbos. This weekend the Jumbos will head back up to Middlebury for the ITA Regional Championships. Play begins Friday and wraps up on Sunday.

Women's Tennis

When: Friday, Saturday and Sunday at ITA Regional Championships at Williams What you need to know: The women’s tennis team has had a week to rest and prepare after opening their fall season at MIT two weekends ago. The Jumbos will now head out to Williams for the ITA Regional Championships Friday through Sunday. In the double flight the Jumbos have three duos playing. Senior Lauren Louks and junior Otilia Popa, junior Mina Karamercan and freshman Kiara Rose and junior Julia Keller with freshman Margot Shea. In the singles flight Karamercan is the fifth seed and Louks the ninth. Keller, Rose, Shea and sophomore Katherine Wiley will also all be competing.

Men's Crew

When: Sunday at Green Mountain Head What you need to know: The men’s crew team opens their fall campaign this weekend at the Green Mountain Head regatta in Putney, Vt. The Jumbos are looking forward to a promising fall campaign as this weekend is one of five races this fall for the Jumbos. At last year’s Green Mountain Head the Jumbos most of the athletes raced in the Open 19-34 age category and senior Andrew MacMillen was seventh out of 34in the race last year.

Women's Crew

When: Sunday at Green Mountain Head What you need to know: The women’s crew team will take the water for the first time this fall this weekend in Putney, Vt. at the Green Mountain Head. The weekend is one of four the Jumbos will be on the water racing this fall. At last year’s Green Mountain head the Jumbos got to race against Olympians Gevvie Stone and Eleanor Logan. Most Jumbos will compete in the Open 19-34 category. Senior Emma Conroy was the top Jumbo finisher last year.

Ben Biswas, Sophomore, Men’s Tennis

Sophomore Ben Biswas was a part of two Jumbo victories at the Middlebury Invitational this past weekend. Biswas won four matches in the C singles flight to win the bracket. Seeded first in the C’s, he beat #4 seed Andrew Imrie from RPI in the semis, 6-0, 6-3. He downed Jack McClaren from Skidmore (6-3, 6-0) in the title match. Biswas also paired up with teammate Ethan Bershtein to win the B doubles flight. They beat their Jumbos teammates in the final as they went up against freshmen Boris Sorkin and Carl-Herman Grant in the B doubles final.

Talia Toland, Freshman, Sailing

Racing in her first New England Intercollegiate Sailing Association Women’s Single-handed Championship, freshman Talia Toland had a great collegiate debut. Toland finished second, earning one of the six NEISA bids into the Intercollegiate Sailing Association single-handed national championship. Toland was in the lead after Saturday’s action before dropping to second place on Sunday. Nine races were contested on Saturday before light wind on Sunday resulted in just two starts for 11 races overall. With finishes totaling to 49, Toland was runner-up to Dana Rohde from Coast Guard (47). She won a tie-breaker for second place against Boston University’s Anna Weis by virtue of their head-to-head results.

The field hockey team needed a big time goal and they got just that from sophomore Rachel Hamilton. Hamilton scored the game-winner in overtime to give the ffith-ranked Jumbos a 1-0 win over No. 14 Mary Washington ON THE ROAD! After a scramble in front of the cage, Hamilton scored and junior Fallon Shaughnessy was credited with the assist.

Senior Alp Rodopman and freshman Talia Toland represented the Jumbos at the New England Intercollegiate Sailing Association Single-handed Championship this past weekend at Roger Williams. Rodopman finished fourth, earning one of the four NEISA berths into the Intercollegiate Sailing Association Single-handed Championships in November 3-4 in St. Petersburg, Florida. Toland was a close second at the women’s event, also earning a berth to the national race.

The men’s tennis team opened their fall season at the Middlebury Invitational on Saturday and Sunday. Sophomore Ben Biswas was part of two victories for the Jumbos as he won the C singles flight and partnered with sophomore Ethan Bershtein to win the B doubles flight.